Never Again
by BookWormProud
Summary: After the death of her mother and brother, Clary is left with her abusive father and overwhelming the guilt. Her life begins to change when three new kids come to her school. She finds herself falling for one of them. Can he save her from her father and herself? Partly inspired by Nickleback's Never Again. LANGUAGE & MILD SEXUAL CONENT. Possible rating change, due to lemon.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: BECAUSE I LIVE IN A DICTATORSHIP COUNTRY, I DO NOT OWN THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS** **EXCEPT FOR MY OCs. If I did own the series, I would be Clary and COCKBLOCKING WOULD BE BANISHED. Thank you.**

Chapter 1:

**Clary P.O.V **

Every day was the same. School. Work. Home. School. Work. Home. Schoolwork and Juvenile idiots and abusive dad. That was just my life. I accepted that. What choice did I have? The only beacon of hope in my dreary, black hole of a life was my best friend, Simon. Him, music and art. Although, since my mom and Jon died, and I was forced to live with Valentine, I didn't paint as much as I used to. That was what my mom did best. I do best at drawing. Sketches of my mom and Jon covered the pages of my sketchbook. My father didn't like seeing pictures of them and I didn't want to forget anything, so I made my own. The last time he saw a picture of them on my wall. He ripped into pieces and made sure to leave me some new bruises before leaving. At times, I felt like a zombie- just going through life on auto-pilot. I was different with Simon, but I only had Team Sports and lunch with him. That was a total of two hours and the day my dad let me go somewhere other than school or work would be the day hell freezes over.

**Jace P.O.V**

I woke up to Max jumping on me, yelling about something. This kid was lucky, I was the Early-Bird type or he would've been dead. I looked at the clock beside me. 6:30 a.m. "What the hell, ax?" I groaned, squinting to see against the sudden bright light.

"It's our first day of school!" he screamed in excitement, "Get up!" I groaned again, not wanting to get up. "I bet there'll be pretty girls there," Max said in a suggestive tone, raising a brow. I had to give it to the kid, he knew me and he was a genius in the making.

"Okay," I said yawning, as I pulled off the covers and swung my feet to the side of the bed," I'm up kid."

"Izzzy!" Max screeched, running to Izzy's room to wake her up. I got up, Stretching, and turned on my radio. I put in one of my favorite CDs and sang along to Iris of the Storm as I took off my boxers and walked into my bathroom. I had to admit, although I didn't really want to get up, I was pretty excited about today. We were pretty popular at our old school, – Izzy, Alec, and I – but Maryse and Robert – being doctors – wanted to move closer to the hospital they worked in. I didn't get why Maryse and Robert were making us start school now – a week before Thanksgiving break – instead of after the break. It was alright with me though. I hadn't gotten laid since I dumped Aline and we moved here, so let's just say I was looking for a rebound. It shouldn't be too hard, with a school of 3,000 horny teenagers, there was bound to be some slutty chicks there. It also didn't hurt that I was sexy as shit and could, quite literally, charm the pants off of any girl I wanted. Today was going to be great.

**Clary P.O.V **

I woke up to the sound of my alarm blearing. I jerked myself upright, startled out of my dream, and quickly shut off the alarm. I came, crashing, down from Cloud9, as I realized were I was. In my own personal hell with Satan for a father. I'd had the best dream…

_Jon, Mom, Luke, and I were at the park in our old spot. It was cold but sunny - the best kind of day. Jon and Luke were throwing a football around. My mom was helping me capture the moment perfectly – showing me were to add more detail and little things to perfect it._

"_You keep this up, and you'll be better than me by the time I die," she said with a proud look._

"_Mom, don't talk like that. I can't even imagine life without you," I said curling up to her side. She giggled softly._

"_Don't worry kiddo," she reassured me, placing a kiss on my forehead, "I'm not going any time soon."_

I'd had that same dream many times. It was a memory, really. That wan in June, a month before the accident, one of the last times I was really happy. My father, being the evil bastard he is, saw it as a way to get revenge, on both my mother and Luke, to immediately sue for custody of me. He won. I guess it helps when you pay off the judge. After that, my father started making my life hell. As if losing two of the three people I loved most wasn't enough, he did his best to keep me away from Luke too. Thank god he let me keep my job at Luke's bookstore. It was my favorite place in the world to be. There were tons of books, Luke, and the band hung out there a lot. If it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't see Luke until I graduate – two years from now - and get the hell away from Valentine. I just couldn't wait. It was my own fault I was stuck here though. It was my fault that they are dead. The memories and guilt overwhelmed me until I couldn't breath. I reached in my dresser, quickly grabbing a blade, and slit another cut on my inner forearm. The familiar sting was relieving and I watched as the blood ran down arm. I wiped at it with my sleeve as I pulled it back down. I-

"Clarissa!" Valentine boomed, breaking me out of my reverie, "Get your ass down here now!" I quickly ran down the steps to the kitchen were my father was fuming in the entry way. "What the hell is wrong with this picture?" he said gesturing broadly to the kitchen. I glanced around quickly until my eyes reached the sink, were a dirty plate was sitting.

"Um, the dishes aren't done." I mumbled looking down.

"And?" Valentine questioned in a dangerously calm tone.

"You told me to wash them last night, but I did. There weren't a-" I was cut off by Valentine's hand connecting hard to my face. The unexpected forced knocked me to the floor, and I didn't dare move.

"When I tell you to do something, I want is done immediately! Do you understand me?!" He screamed at me.

"Yes, sir?" I said quietly.

"This whole, god-damn house better be clean by the time I get home tonight!" He stomped off, but not until kicking- and most likely bruising me hard in the stomach. Just another day in hell.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! This is my first fan fic so please give **_**constructive **_**criticism. Hope you're liking it. ~C**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, off to a good start. I'm updating early – I'll normally update once a week – but I had some don time. I thank all of you for reading tis, and a special thanks to my followers, as well as, to Booshort and Justrockzyxxx for the supportive comments. You are all greatly appreciated. Enjoy, darlings! ~C**

Chapter 2:

**Clary P.O.V.**

I was late, again, thanks to my father. I'd had to cover up the new bruise over my left eye. This was the fourth time I'd been late this semester, which meant I'd get detention. Joy! I walked towards the main office, fully prepared to be lectured by Principle Starkweather for being late yet again. The doors suddenly swung open, colliding with my face. I hit the floor for the second time that morning, my head slamming against the cold hard floor. My vision blurred, and I saw a blur of gold above me, before everything went black.

"Oh shit," I heard a deep, whimsical voice say above me.

"Nice job Dumbass," a female voice said, sounding annoyed.

"We haven't even made it to first period yet, Jace," a different male voice whined. My eyes fluttered open and focused on the blur of gold I'd seen earlier. It was a guy. A really hot, beautiful, and angelic looking guy, who had just knocked me on my ass by slamming a door in my face.

"Well hey there, Red." The boy, Jace, said crouching down and reaching out a hand to help me up. I took and he pulled me to my feet. "You should watch where you're going. You could've gotten a concussion." I couldn't believe this guy. My temper got the best of me.

"_I_ should watch where I'm going?" I said in disbelief. "_You_ should watch were you're going, you arrogant little shit!" His mouth fell open in shock.

"I-I uh," he seemed to stumble over his words but quickly regained composure.

"My apologies, Red. I guess I just couldn't see you all the way down there." I was furious. In the minute that I'd known this guy, he had knocked me out and insulted me twice.

"How original, you fucking jerk." I huffed, turning around to grab my bag from the floor. I turned back and his face was barely two inches away. He smelled amazing and I had the strange urge to reach out and touch his beautiful blonde locks. How hard did I hit my head? I pushed back the thought out of my head and said," You know what they say about guys that feel that need to make fun of others' size. Don't you?" I raised my eyebrows in confusion, but didn't wait for his response. I walked, around his shocked form, into the main office. I was met with the very angry, Principle Starkweather.

**Jace P.O.V**

Isabelle didn't even try to contain her laughter. Did that little midget just imply I had a small dick? Wtf!? I gave her the smirk. Girls swoon when they get the smirk. Who did she think she was? I mean, she was probably the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, with her glowing, green eyes and fiery, red hair. I don't think I'd ever wanted anything more than I wanted her, but I _wanted _to know her. I'd never-

"Jace," Isabelle pulled me from my thoughts, "You're staring. In a weirdo, stalker way. You should probably stop that unless you're trying to freak her out." She was looking at me like I was an alien or something.

"What?" I noticed Alec was looking at me funny too.

"Nothing," He said, composing himself, "But we need to get to first period."

"Oh. Right," I said, turning to Izzy," You coming?"

"No, I have World History first period, and I 'm going to talk to that girl you just assaulted and try to apologize."

"Okay. We'll see you at lunch then?" I said backing towards the main hall.

"Yeah, sure." She said turning towards the office. I spun around and ran to catch up to Alec as we headed to first period.

**Clary P.O.V.**

Starkweather gave me a long-ass lecture, but let me off with a warning considering, I'd just suffered minor concussion. He wrote me a pass to class and I quickly grabbed my bag and left his office. I opened the door to the main office and found the girl from earlier looking at me expectantly. She was make- you-want-to-kill-yourself gorgeous. She was wearing a black, high waist skirt that stopped mid-thigh and a white, lace, off the shoulder top. Her heels had to be at least five inches. They were beige, covered in white lace. Her outfit put mine to shame. I was wearing a graphic tee, leather jacket, ripped black jeans, and my favorite pair of black high-tops. Her dark black hair was in professional-looking, loose curls. _My _hair was a puffy, hot mess of frizzy, natural, red curls. She looked very similar to the dark-haired boy from earlier, only, where he had piercing, blue eyes, she had warm, brown ones.

"Hi," she said holding out a hand to me, "I'm Isabelle Lightwood." I took her hand, shaking it and letting mine fall back to my side. "Sorry about earlier. The 'Arrogant little shit' is my brother, Jace. It's our first day here. We moved to this area two weeks ago. That was great by the way. I don't think he's ever had a girl call him out on his bullshit before, other than me of course." She looked at me expectantly, until I realized what she was waiting for.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm Clary. Clary Fray." I still used my mother's maiden name, which I's used since I was two and my parents spilt, regardless of what Valentine had to say about it.

"Nice to, formally, meet you, Clary." She said smiling, "and you call me Izzy."

"Nice to meet you too, Izzy." I said smiling, "but I seriously have to go to class. I'm already late."

"Oh, yeah. Of course," she held out a paper to me, "can you see if we have any classes together?" I took it and found that we had 4th period Art, lunch, and 7th period Team Sports together.

"I'm a sophomore and you're a junior, so all your core classes are different, but we have Art and Team Sports together. Plus, we have the same lunch period. So, I'll see you in Art?" I said handing her back her schedule.

"Yup. See you, Clary."

"Good luck on your first day," I called to her, as she headed down the hallway. She waved her hand, over her shoulder, and I turned, making my way to English Lit.

I hated walking into class late. Everybody turned to star, as I opened the door. I kept my eyes on my feet to avoid all he eyes on me, until Mrs. Darvice spoke up.

"Nice of you to join us, Mrs. Fray," she said as I made my way over to her, handing her the note.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Darvice ," I said in my 'innocent voice' that I used with all my teachers, "I was speaking with Principle Starkweather." Her expression softened immediately, and she smiled lightly. She was easy to piss off, but she was really kind-hearted. She only got mad because she cared. She wanted to see her students succeed. I loved her.

"Okay," she said, "Please take your seat." I did as instructed, keeping my eyes down to avoid the others' gazes.

"Alright," said, calling the class to attention, "I want to point out some things from this weekend's reading." I reached in my bag, for my copy of Fahrenheit 451 – great book by the way – and smelled something unusual, but somehow familiar. It smelled like…. Sunshine. Is that even a smell? Then I heard a familiar voice coming from the – usually vacant – desk beside mine.

"Hey, Red," he said, smirking at me. I glared back. "Sorry about earlier. I tend to have a big ego, but I mean," he gestured from his face down his body. "Really, though, I'm sorry. I didn't see you outside the door."

"Okay." I said blankly.

"So, I didn't get to formally introduce myself. I'm Jace Wayland."

"Wayland?" I said, confused. He looked back at me, seemingly confused as well.

"Yes. Wayland. W-A-Y-L-," I cut him off.

"No. I mean, Isabelle said you were her brother and her last name is Lightwood." He nodded in understanding.

"I was adopted by Mayrse and Robert, - Izzy and Alec's parents – when I was five." I kind of felt guilty for prying, but he didn't seem to mind talking about it. "They have a younger son too," he said, "Max."

"Oh. Alec is the boy from earlier," I inquired, "with the blue eyes. Right?"

"Yup," he said, popping the 'p,' "and your name is?" I flushed, embarrassed, that was the second time I'd done that today.

"Cl-," I was cut off by .

"Clarissa, , do you too have something you would like to share with the class?" She didn't wait for us to answer, thankfully, and continued her lecture. For the rest of class, I avoided even glancing at Jace. would send us both to Starkweater if she even _suspected_ we were talking again. The class went by quickly. When the bell rang, I grabbed my book, shoving it into my bag, and walked quickly out the door. When I got to my locker, Simon was already waiting for me with Jordan – his second best friend and bandmate.

"Sup, Fray?" Simon said nodding at me.

"Nothing much, scrub," I said, playfully. He held his hand over his hart, feigning hurt.

"You wound me deeply." Jordan elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut up, you dork he said to Simon, before turning to me, "How goes life, Fray?"

"Just fantastic!" I said sarcastically.

"We're practicing tonight at Luke's store tonight," Simon cut in. "Are you working?" I had to be home from work every night by 9:00p.m., so on the nights the band practiced, Luke closed an hour early. This way I could watch and, when Jordan couldn't make it, fill in as lead vocalist. I didn't like singing in front of people, but I didn't mine helping at practice, with just the guys and sometimes their girlfriends there.

"Yeah. I'll be there," I said, shutting my locker.

"Cool. See you later," Simon said, walking away.

"Bye Clare," Jordan waved. I made my way to my next class – Spanish Two. I was half-way there, when some one's muscular arm came around my shoulder - their, very large, hand resting on my collar bone. I looked up, startled, to find Jace smirking at me.

"Hello, again, Clarissa," I cringed at the use of my full name. No one, except Valentine, used it and I hated it. "What's your next class? May I walk with you?" He smiled brightly at me. A full-blown, gorgeous smile, showing a chipped incisor. God, he was gorgeous.

**A/N: I hope you liked it, Please follow and review. I'd really like you guys' opinion on this and, if you have any ideas or anything you want me to do more of (adding more Clace, Malec, Sizzy, etc.) in the upcoming chapters, just let me know. I'll update again on Friday or Saturday.**


	3. Chapter 3: Part 1

A/N:** Once again, I thank all of you beautiful people for reading, with a special thanks to all those who follow, favorite and review. So, this is only part one of chapter three, but I promised to update so part two should be up by Thursday – maybe Wednesday. Enjoy, darlings! I love you all! ~C**

Chapter 3:

**Jace P.O.V.**

The hell was that? She just ran out of the class, without even a glance my way. Maybe she was still mad about earlier. I apologized. What more did she want? I left the class room and headed over to my locker. Izzy was at her own, which was right next to mine, already.

"Hey, Iz," I said, opening my locker to grab my stuff for Spanish Two. "How's your day going?" I looked across the hall and saw Clarissa walking by us. I saw she had her head down, not noticing I was there. Then I noticed the guy behind her, looking at her with a predatory gaze. He was about my size. Maybe an inch or two shorter. He had dark hair and black eyes. I can't explain what happened next. I had never felt this before. This overwhelming_ need _to protect her.

"Great! You're never going to believe this. I-," Izzy started, but I wasn't listening. I quickly cut across the crowed, catching up to Clarissa. I glared at the guy behind her as I draped my arm across her shoulders, resting my hand on her collar bone. Her hair smelled amazing – like strawberries or something. Where my hand touched the skin on her collar bone, there was warmth - like an electric current was going through us both.

"Hello, again, Clarissa," I said, smirking at her. She looked up at me, surprised, her green eyes wide.

"Call me Clary," she said looking away from me.

"Okay, Clary." I liked Clary better too. It fit her – short, cute, and beautiful. "What's your next class? May I walk with you?" I asked hopefully. She was taking a long time to answer, we were almost to my next class room. I started getting _nervous_. What was this girl doing to me? Girls did _not _make _me _nervous.

"My next class is Spanish Two," she said with an amused smile, "and we're already almost there and walking together so, yeah." I couldn't help but smile brightly.

"Great. That's my next class too."

"So, you're a sophomore?" she asked.

"No, I'm a junior." She looked confused. "I took French my freshmen year and I failed English last year. I skipped a lot so…"

"Oh," she said, with a disappointed look.

"What?" I asked, curiously.

"Nothing," she blushed. "I just don' usually hang out with class-skipping types of people. I mean, most of my friends are in a band, but they're all nerds, especially Simon." She blushed deeper and looked down, "Plus, I'm more of the loner-artistic-bookworm type.

"Well," I said smiling, "I actually like reading, and I'm decent enough at writing. I just hated my old teacher, Ms. Garroway. We had personal problems. I knew her, from when I was a kid. Plus, she was a major bitch, and I refuse to see her on a daily basis." She'd stopped in the middle of the door way, once again looking up at me with wide eyes.

"Garroway? Amatis Garroway?" she asked. _Uh-oh._

"Um, yeah," I said cautiously. "Do you know her?" She nodded.

"She's my Aunt. Well, my step-aunt. My mom was married to her brother," her expression darkened.

"Wh-," I was cut off by someone clearing their throat behind us. I turned to see a girl in a strapless tube-top and tight, white yoga pants. She had dark blue eyes and straight blonde hair. She was ok. She had a nice body, but her face was caked with makeup, her eyelashes clumped together. Her eyeliner was thick and her eye shadow was an unnatural metallic shade of green. She was obviously trying to get male attention. She was the type of girl I thought I wanted this morning. She was the total opposite of, and nothing compared to, Clary. Everything about her screamed fake. From the death glare she was sending Clary, it was obvious that even her smile was fake.

"Hello there,_ Clarissa_." Clary glared back at the girl. She must not like her full name. "Have you stolen any souls lately, ginge?"

"Wow," Clary said clapping sarcastically. "This is really an accomplishment for you. You made a whole _sentence_," she said with mock enthusiasm. I chuckled under my breath. She was freaking adorable when she was mad. She turned away from the girl and walked further into the classroom, siting in the last desk, of the last row, in the back corner of the room. I started walking over to her, when Kaelie stepped out in front of me.

"Hi. Jace? Isn't it?" she asked, running her hand along my arm. "Would you like to sit with me?" she grinned seductively, leaning forward slightly to show off more cleavage. I glanced over her shoulder at Clary. She was drawing in her sketchbook, absent-mindedly biting her lip. That little gesture did more to me than all of this girl's cleavage and her slutty clothes combined. Clary was changing me already. I looked back at Kaelie briefly.

"No, thanks," with that, I moved around her and went to go sit in the desk next to Clary's. She looked up, as I approached, and her eyebrows pulled together.

"Where's Kaelie?" she asked and I pointed over my shoulder in the direction I'd come from. "You're not sitting with her?" she searched my eyes, seemingly confused.

"No," I said matter-of-factly, "Clowns have always creeped me out, so…" Clary erupted with laughter. I laughed with her – she had that contagious type of laugh – and noticed Kaelie glaring at us. I ignored her, turning back to Clary.

"That's what Maia and I call her," she said, still giggling.

"What?" I questioned.

"Clown Face," she said stopping her laughter. "Kaelie started calling me 'Fox Face,' in eighth grade, Maia was sticking up for me one time and called her 'Clown Face'. Since then, we've always called her that," she explained. Her expression darkened. "I hate being a ginger," she mumbled to herself. I didn't think I was meant to hear it, but I did, and I couldn't believe this beautiful girl, who had affected me more in a few hours than any girl ever had, was so oblivious to her own beauty. I hooked my finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to my own. I then gave her _the smirk_. The one that made most girls swoon on sight.

"I think redheads are sexy," I said in a deep voice, and watched her eyes go wide and cheeks turn bright pink.

**Clary P.O.V.**

My eyes went wide and I blushed furiously. Did he actually say that? Was I imagining things? His face was so close. His _lips _were so close and his eyes were on _my_ lips. I opened my mouth, hoping something of intelligence would come out, when someone called the class to attention. Jace dropped his hand, seemingly reluctant, and we both looked up to see , an elderly Hispanic man with dark, graying hair.

"Good morning, students," he said cheerily. "I apologize, but I've yet to finish grading your tests. So, complete these worksheets, for a participation grade, and then you may talk amongst yourselves," he said, passing out worksheets. "Señorita Fray," he said, stopping at my desk, "Assist Señor Wayland if he needs help, please." I nodded. Jace and I easily finished the worksheets in less than fifteen minutes.

"So," Jace said, smiling down at me, as he sat back down from turning in our papers, "earlier, you said all your friends were in a band. What do you do?" I blushed immediately, looking down to avoid his molten gold eyes.

"I'm not really _in_ the band," I explained. "My best friend started it, in fifth grade, with his friends, Eric, Matt, and Kirk. They sucked, though, because none of them can really sing. In eighth, my friend Maia started dating Jordan Kyle. He has a really great voice, so he joined the band. Now, they're pretty good, but they can't write for shit. They mostly do covers of stuff by Slash, Hedley, Greenday, Linkin Park, Imagine Dragons, AFI, and Radiohead. I write poetry a lot, – just like random thoughts, really – nothing good. Anyway, Simon and Eric went through my stuff one day and found a poem they really liked. Eric said something like, 'This is so deep, man. I'm feeling the emotions,' and they wanted to use it as a song and wouldn't take no for an answer. So, I gave in and let them use it. That's really the only part I play in the band," I looked back at Jace and noticed he was staring at my sketchbook. The page it was on was of a sketch I'd started yesterday. It was an eye – _my_ eye – with a blackened tear dripping from the corner. It was simple, but there was a lot of emotion behind it. Guilt. Loss. Hate. Pain.

"That's awesome," Jace said reaching for the sketchbook. "May I?" he asked. I nodded and he started flipping through the pages, from the first, "Are your poems this good?" I blushed, yet again.

"No," I scoffed, "they suck, actually."

"I doubt that," he said. Suddenly, his jaw set rigidly and he turned the sketchbook to show me the page he was looking at. On one side was a sketch of my mom and Jon, the other was of just Jon. "Who is this?" Jace said in a defensive tone. "Is he your boyfriend or something? You draw him a lot." I laughed softly and he shot me an angry look.

"No," I said. "That's my mom and my brother, Jon

"Oh," he said, smiling again, "good." He seemed to realize what he'd just said and his eyes went wide. "I mean – I-," he looked down. "Does your brother go to school here?" he asked, obviously trying to change the subject. Only the one he'd chosen wasn't one I wanted to talk about.

"No." I tried to not let the memories of my brother get to me, but my voice broke, and I could feel the tears beginning to form in the corners of my eyes. I blinked them away, quickly, hoping Jace wouldn't notice. He did.

"What's wrong, Red?" he asked, his voice full of concern. He reached out slightly, trying to find some way to help.

"Nothing," I said, looking up at him. He gazed back at me, giving me a look that said, "Yeah, right." I sighed. "I just don't want to talk about it. I _can't_," I said, begging him, with my eyes to just drop it. He seemed to search my eyes for a moment, but then went back to looking through my sketchbook. He leaned back in surprise, and his lips curled up into a full-blown, perfect smile. I itched to draw him like this – beautiful, happy, and vulnerable all at once.

"What's this?" He held out the sketchbook so I could see it. It was a sketch that I'd started on last period. It wasn't even close to done, it stopped at the shoulders, but you could tell who it was. Jace. _Shirtless_ Jace. The blood rushed from my face. _Oh shit._

"I-It's nothing." I stuttered I snatched away my sketchbook and snapped it shut. I threw it in my bag and grabbed my binder, knowing the bell would ring soon. Jace reached out, grabbing right above my wrists, were yesterday's cuts were. I flinched, slightly, but he didn't notice. He leaned in, his face less than an inch away from mine, and pulled one corner of his mouth up in a sexy half-smile. I'm pretty sure my heart actually _stopped _beating, for a moment

"Don't be embarrassed," he said, "It's really very life-like. You're a great artist. Not a lot of people can capture all of this sexy, Red." I smiled at the, previously annoying, nickname.

"Thanks, Goldilocks," I retorted, as the bell rang. "I'll see you at lunch?" I said, trying to sound non-chalont. His face lit up with a big smile, as he backed away.

"Definitely," he said, before turning on his heel and walking out the door. What _the hell_ was I doing? I couldn't let myself like him. I couldn't even have close _friends_. Maia had found out about the cutting and Simon knew _everything_. It was already hard enough to hide it from my, not as close, friends like Jordan and the guys. I didn't need more people to lie to and always wear long-sleeves and cover-up around. Plus, he couldn't actually _care _about me. I couldn't let him into my life, but how could I push him away? I'd never felt like this about any on before, but I couldn't. I couldn't trust him. Then I could love him, and then I could be destroyed by him. I didn't _deserve _him anyways. I didn't deserve to be happy. Not when Jon and our mother didn't even get to _live_.

**A/N: If you guys want to see Magnus in the next part of this chapter, I'm going to need some more comments :)**

**Thanks for reading!㈵6**


	4. Chapter 3: Part 2

**Jace P.O.V.**

What the _hell _was wrong with me? I wanted a rebound slut, not a girl that I actually cared about. I didn't want a relationship, and that's what Clary deserved. I wasn't sure I could give her that. I didn't know _how _to. It wasn't like I'd had actual relationships before. I mean there was Aline, but _I_ never called her my girlfriend. It was never official. We were fuck buddies at best. I definitely didn't love nor trust her. I felt like I could do those things with Clary, and that scared the hell out of me. _"To love is to destroy and to be loved is to be the one destroyed." _My mother's words rang in my head. _No. _I would not let her ruin my life anymore. Clary was perfect – beautiful, smart, and fun to hang out with – even if she_ was_ hiding things. I was too. I mean, I barely knew her. I wasn't expecting her to spill her guts that easily. She made me want to change – to be better. I was going to put my ego aside, stop being a man-whore, and _try _to trust her. I would _not _let my parents' fucked-up relationship, or my mother's words, make me have a love-less and miserable life.

I walked into American Lit. and was attacked by Izzy.

"Jace!" she screeched at me, "I am _so_ beyond pissed that you just took off, and made me look like a weirdo talking to myself, but I _must _tell you the following _immediately_. Guess what." I chuckled.

"What, Iz?"

"I met this cute, nerdy gamer boy and I think I'm kind of liking him. That's not the amazing, shocking, and possibly life-changing part, though. _I_… _made a possible friend! _A _female _friend!" I smirked at her.

"What'd you do Iz? Abduct some poor girl?" I asked, sarcastically. She swatted at my arm.

"No," she said, putting a hand on her hip, "I actually met a _non-_fake, actual human female with friend possibility." I let my mouth fall open with fake shock.

"Where did you find her? Are you sure she actually exists?"

"Yes. I just apologized to the girl you knocked down."

"Clary?"

"Yep," she said, popping the 'p.' "I apologized for you being an 'arrogant little shit' and talked to her. She was really nice. We have next period – Art – together. You should talk to her. Apologize. She's the only girl I've seen that doesn't soon on sight and put up with your bullshit. I mean, she really called you out. I know you have some eversion to relationships, but she could be good girlfriend material. Plus, I approve." I couldn't help but smile.

"I already did apologize, actually." She looked at me confused, for a moment, until a knowing smile lit up her face.

"You _like _her!" she yelled, grabbing my shoulders and jumping up and down. I noticed we were getting some weird looks.

"We need to sit down, Iz," I said and the bell rang for class to begin.

"Alright," she sighed, "but we're not done here. We'll continue this discussion at home, because I'm sitting with Clary and Simon at lunch." I realized Izzy's Simon was the same one as the friend Clary mentioned earlier.

"Me too."

**Clary P.O.V.**

The bell for fourth period rang, and I, reluctantly, made my way to Art. Third period was boring, - I hated the American History teacher – but, for the first time ever, I wasn't exactly excited about going to Art. Isabelle seemed nice and everything, but it wasn't safe for me to have friends. It would make it even harder to stay away from Jace if I was friends with his sister. I walked into Art and saw Izzy was already sitting at my, normally empty, table. She looked up, smiling brightly, as I walked over to the table. I smiled back, sheepishly.

"Hi," she said as I sat in the chair beside her. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here. The teacher said it was this or sit with slutty-pants over there," she said nodding her head towards Kaelie's table.

"Of course not," I said. It wasn't entirely true, but no one should be forced to sit with Kaelie and her bimbion (combination of bimbo and minion), Adison.

"Okay," the teacher, Mrs. Ivy, said, clapping her hands together to get our attention. "I want you all to paint hope. It's due the Monday we get back from Thanksgiving break, so get to it, darlings!" Kaelie raised her hand. "Yes, Ms. Fae?"

"That doesn't make any sense. Like, how are we supposed to paint _hope_?" Kaelie asked, smacking on bubble gum. Mrs. Ivy just looked annoyed.

"Don't think about it, dear. Just do it." I didn't have to think about it for a second. I knew what I was going to paint, immediately. My spot in the park, the one my family used to go to every week, which I dreamed about all the time. I immediately went to work, getting all the supplies I needed, and started on the painting. After a few moments of working in silence, Izzy spoke up.

"So," she said, looking a little nervous, "I met your friend, Simon. We have first period together. He's pretty cool. He talked about you a lot. You guys aren't dating or anything, right?"

"No!" her eyes widened at my reaction. "Sorry, I didn't mean to over-react, but definitely not. He's like a brother to me. He _thought_ he liked me in sixth grade, but he's totally over that. He has been for years." She looked relieved.

"He's not dating anyone?"

"Why?" I asked, confused. She blushed. _Oh_. "Um, no. He isn't. Do you _like_ him?"

"I'm-I don't really know. I'm sort of confused. He's really cool, but I just- ugh," she paused. "He's just not the type I'm used to dating. I mean the last guy I dated, Meliorn, turned out to be a jerk. He was the first guy I actually started to _care _about. Anyway, I thought, maybe, Simon would be different."

"He is. Simon is a great guy. He's honest and he would never use anyone, but he's really shy. You'd probably have to make the first move." She just nodded, so I let it drop.

"I heard you talked to my brother," Izzy said, after a moment of silence.

"Yup," I said, not really liking where the conversation had gone.

"D-,"she started, before being cut off – thank the angel – by the bell. I still had a long way to go before the painting was finished, but I'd have plenty of time to work on it during the break. Izzy and I gathered our things and headed for the door.

"Have a wonderful day, girls!" Mrs. Ivy said as we left. I can't wait to see your project, Clary." We waved and continued down the hall.

"Ready for lunch?" Izzy asked, seemingly excited. I wondered if it had anything to do with Simon.

"Yeah," I replied. "I just have to put my stuff in my locker."

"Okay. I'll go with you. I didn't take any books to Art." With that, she followed my lead to my locker. Simon was there, waiting for us.

"Hey, Izzy! Hey, Clary!" We waved. Izzy leaned against the locker beside mine, biting her lip and twirling her hair absentmindedly. Simon stood off a little ways, awkwardly, practically drooling at Izzy.

I shoved my books in my mess of a locker, and we made our way to the lunchroom.

"What's on the menu today?" Izzy asked, breaking the silence.

"The usual _fantastic_ lunchroom food," Simon said with fake excitement. "Your choice of rancid poppy seed chicken, – which looks highly similar to throw-up – a patty-like substance made of 'mystery meat,' – which does _taste _good – or something from the soggy-lettuce salad bar – Clary's personal favorite. _I _however, will take my chances with the mystery meat." Izzy laughed, and Simon's smile got impossibly wider.

"I thought you were Jewish."

"I am, but 'mystery meat' doesn't count, my dear Izzy. For all we know, it could be a fruit-burger," he replied matter-of-factly.

"I'm pretty sure they don't make fruit-burgers," Izzy said laughing softly.

"Sure they do," Simon retorted. "Ask anyone." Izzy looked to me.

"Clary?"

"Nope," I smiled cheekily. "I'm pretty sure they don't."

"See?" Izzy asked, turning back to Simon.

"Leprechauns don't count as _anyone_, Iz," Simon sated. He leaned in closer, dropping his voice to a whisper, and pointed a finger at me, "They're not really _people_." Izzy burst into laughter. I knew I should've been mad, but I couldn't help but laugh with them, as we entered the lunchroom.

"I," I started, still laughing, "am _not_ a leprechaun!" Suddenly, someone behind me grabbed my waist. I yelped and jumped forward, surprised, crashing into Simon. Before I even had the chance to see who it was, Simon had shoved me behind him. Simon was never the type to fight, but – win or lose – he'd always stood up for me. He jerked forward shoving whoever it was that'd grabbed me.

"The fuck man?! Keep your fucking hands to yourself!" Simon yelled, causing a few people to stare. A familiar, musical laugh sounded from in front of Simon. I recognized it immediately. Jace. I peered around Simon.

"Calm down, Rat-boy," Jace said smiling, although it didn't reach his eyes. They were sending Simon a death glare. I pushed Simon aside. He gave me an incredulous look as I moved to stand between him and Jace.

"Simon," I said in a calm voice, "this is Jace, Isabelle's _brother_." I turned to face Jace. "Jace, this is my best friend, Simon." His expression changed, for a second, I thought he looked _hurt_. I must've read his face wrong. H quickly looked back at Simon. They glared at each other for a moment, before I spoke again. "O-kay, then. Let's get lunch," I turned to see a lot of people staring, including everyone at our table. Magnus, my very sparkly friend, was running at us. He was wearing rainbow colored, sequined pants and a long-sleeved, glittery white top with matching shoes. His make-up was done with sparky, blue eyeliner and rainbow eye shadow. He stopped, just in time to keep from slamming into me, pulling one of my curls and watching it bounce.

"Hi, Clary," he smiled. "Who're your new friends?" I turned to the side, pointing them out as I said their names, "This is Jace Wayland and Isabelle Lightwood. Guys, this is the, very sparkly, Magnus Bane." Izzy and Jace waved.

"You… are gorgeous!" Magnus said looking between them, his cat-like eyes glowing.

"Thanks," they both said simultaneously, with proud smiles.

"Not you two," he pointed between them and they separated, "_Him_. The boy with the blue eyes." I looked to see a flustered, and blushing, Alec.

"Uh-I-um, thanks," he muttered. Magnus reached out, grabbing him by the elbow, and then did the same to Izzy.

"Come, darlings. You can sit with Clary and I." I followed the trio to the salad bar, while Jace and Simon went for the "mystery meat." I grabbed a water, apple, and yogurt, not wanting to eat "soggy lettuce salad" – as Simon called it. We all paid and Magnus led the way to our usual table. I sat between Simon and Jace – Jace was at the end of the table – with Izzy, Magnus, and Alec across from us. Magnus introduced everyone. "Guys, this is Isabelle, Alec, and Jace," he pointed them out and they waved. All of the guys, except Jordan, were sitting on Izzy's right side, ogling. Thankfully, for her, Maia was between them. Jordan was to Simon's left, across from Maia – they'd been dating since middle school and were like the perfect couple. Blythe and Kate – Kirk and Matt's girlfriends – sat to Jordan's left, across from their boyfriends. Magnus introduced them all to Iz, Alec, and Jace.

"So," Jace said with an amused expression, "you're all in a band?" He looked like he was holding back laughter. I kicked him lightly under the table.

"Oh, heavens no!" Magnus exclaimed with a hand over his chest. "I have _nothing _to do with that mess." All the guys turned to him with dirty looks as Jace, Alec, and Izzy laughed. "Alright, so they're not a _mess_, but they have _no _fashion sense whatsoever."

"Stop talking shit, Magnus. You wear glittery eyeliner on a daily basis. We are most definitely _not_ a mess. I made this band pretty damn good," Jordan said with a proud smile. Maia kicked him under the table.

"We actually have a gig next month, during Christmas break. We're playing Ava Lane's birthday party at Pandemonium," Simon cut in. Ava Lane was one of the nicest people you'd ever meet. Pretty much the entire school knew – and loved – her. There would be tons of people there, so it was a big deal for the guys. "Our original songs suck. The one Clary wrote us is pretty good, but it's kind of emo and I don't know if we should play it at the party. It's not as good when Jordan sings it. There's more emotion when Clary does it." Now I was _pissed_.

"It was never_ meant _to be a song, or _read_, for that matter, _Simon_." He looked down, avoiding my death glare. "Plus, if I do recall, the condition of me letting you use it was that we did not _speak _of it!" I was ready to kill.

"You sing?" Jace asked, his eyes turning a darker shade of gold. I bit my lip and looked down, playing with my yogurt. I could feel my cheeks burning. I probably resembled a tomato at this point.

"Oh, she sings," Magnus said, embarrassing me further. "She's _really _good at Vance Joy covers. I guess that's because he's her favorite artist. She really has an amazing voice." I wanted to die. I could feel Jace's gaze on me. I looked up to see his eyes dark and lustful

"Hot," he said, smirking. I blushed more.

"So, Eric and I were thinking about a new band name." Everyone turned their attention to Simon, except Jace. He'd moved his hand to my leg, sticking his thumb in one of the holes in my jeans and rubbing circles just above my knee. I swatted his hand away.

"Hell. No." I heard Jordan say with finality. "We are sticking with 'Millennium Lint.' 'Dichotomous Lemur' is ridiculous. How did you guys survive before me?" He turned to Jace, "Their original name was 'Lawn Chair Crisis.'" Jace laughed

"Screw you, Jordan," Simon said before turning to Izzy, Magnus, Alec, Jace, and I. "What do you guys think about 'Dichotomous Lemur?'" he asked us.

"Stick with the 'lint' thing," I said. Jordan laughed.

"Oh, shut up," he said turning to Jordan. "She doesn't count, Jordan." He turned back to me, "You are a ginger," he explained, "therefore your opinion is invalid." I opened my mouth to retort back, when Jace interrupted us.

"Well, you are a rat-faced dumbass, therefore your band name sucks," he said, copying Simon's tone, and pulled my chair away from Simon, bringing me closer to him. I realized Jace was being protective, though I didn't get why. He couldn't _care_ about me, - he barely knew me – but here he was defending me. It really wasn't a big deal. Simon was my best friend. He was just joking, but Jace seemed to feel otherwise. He was still glaring at Simon like he wanted to murder him.

"Okay!" Magnus said, clearly trying to avoid conflict. "Who's going to the bookstore tonight to watch these losers attempt to make music of some form?" he looked to Alec, smiling brightly. "I'd love to see more of you guys."

"I-I can't tonight," Alec stuttered out. Magnus's face fell.

"Me either," Izzy said. "We have to get the rest of our stuff unpacked by tonight. Mom's orders."

"I can go," Jace said enthusiastically. He looked down at me. "I finished packing earlier. So, if you want me to go…..." he trailed off. I knew I should say no, but those eyes. He stared at me with liquid gold eyes, full of hope. He was the first guy, other than Sebastian, to take notice of me. Plus, unlike Sebastian, he actually looked at my face most of the time. He had a big ego, but he had a right to. He was like Chris Hemsworth hot. I realized he was still waiting on an answer.

"Definitely," I said, giving him a flirty smile. His face lit up with the brightest of smiles. I couldn't believe this golden-god actually liked me or wanted me in any way. It made me feel like I was worth something. Simon grabbed my arm, right where I had tons of scars and cuts overlapping. I hissed at the unexpected pain and pulled away. Simon's eyes widened, but Maia said something to get the others' attention. No one seemed to notice, but Jace stared at me for the rest of lunch. I wasn't sure if he'd noticed, until I looked up to find a concerned look on his face. He nodded to my arm in question, but I nodded, signaling it was nothing. He seemed to relax after that, but he didn't look away from me all trough lunch. Just the thought of him staring at me the way he did made my stomach flutter. The bell rang and every one split up, except Jace and I. He was still staring.

"Stare much?" I asked with a flirtatious smirk. He raised an eyebrow at me – which I was incapable of doing and seriously pissed me off.

"Only when I like what I see," he retorted, winking at me. I blushed for about the hundredth time that day.

"So, I'll see you in P.E.?" I asked, not wanting to be late to Biology.

"Sure thing, Red," Jace said, giving a wave, as he turned. I grabbed my books and headed off to Biology.

**Jace P.O.V.**

The next two classes went by slow as hell. All I wanted to do was see Clary. I couldn't wait for Team Sports. When the bell ran for seventh period, I sprang from my desk and ran to my locker. I quickly threw my books in and grabbed my gym bag, making my way to the gym. I was the first one in the locker room. I changed quickly and headed for the door. I reached out for the handle, when the door swung open. The dark haired boy that'd been staring at Clary walked in, followed by three other guys, Rat-boy, Jordan, and Alec. Alec looked nervous. This shit wasn't fair. He did all he could to stay out of P.E. classes in school, afraid people would find out he was gay and give him crap, but two semesters of a P.E. class were required to graduate and he was a senior.

"Sup, man?" Jordan said nodding. I nodded back.

"Is this the whole class?" I asked.

"All the guys," one of the guys said, with a heavy Hispanic accent, "I'm Raphael, and this is Sebastian." I nodded.

"Jace," I said, turning back to Jordan.

"Actually," he said, "Magnus is in this class too. He's just always supper early."

"Well," Raphael said with a smug grin, "fags don't count as 'guys.'" Sebastian snickered. I wanted nothing more than to pound their faces into the hard tile floors, but when I looked to Alec, he gave me a warning glare. I sighed, turning to Jordan again.

"I'll see you guys out there." I made my way to the door. The gym teacher was lounging in a chair, behind the controls for the scoreboard. 30 Years to Life by Slash was playing from the speakers beside him. I loved this class already, with the exception of Raphael and Sebastian. I looked around to find Magnus waiting by the doors to the girl's locker room, glaring across the room, at Kaelie and some other blonde chick. They were both "stretching" doing their best to stick their boobs and asses out, in my direction. I sighed, turning back to Magnus.

"Sorry, blondie, but it appears you are Slut 1 and Slut 2's next protect." He continued to glare at the girl I didn't know.

"I met Kaelie earlier and I'm pretty sure I made it clear that I was not interested."

"Well, Kaelie and Camille aren't the type that are used to not getting what they want," he stopped glaring at Camille for a moment and looked at me questioningly. "Do you like a certain little fiery red-headed friend of mine?"

"Maybe," I said, looking down.

"Well figure it out," he said, getting suddenly defensive, "she's been through hell and is still going through it. Do not toy with her emotions or hurt her in any way or, so help me, I will cut off your man parts and feed them to Chairman Meow!" I was lightly surprised by how direct he was, but I was glad Clary had friends that really cared about her. I really did not like that Simon kid.

"What happened with her brother?" I asked, hoping he could give me some answers. Magnus's face turned to a solemn mask.

"He and their mother died, in a car accident, last July. She blames herself, and she's now stuck living with her shitty father and only gets to see her friends and Luke – her stepdad – at school and work. If you ask me, there's something weird going on with her father. She won't talk to any of us, though. She has a lot of problems, so if you really like her, you're going to have to work for it. For her trust. Also, if you should hurt her, Simon, Jordan, and I will come for you. Just ask dear Sebbie over there, we watch her like a hawk. Especially so, since her brother isn't around to watch out for her anymore."

"I would never hurt Clary," I said with absolute conviction. "I really like her. She's the first girl I've met who hasn't just thrown herself at me. She's beautiful, talented, smart, and she doesn't even know it. Why would she blame herself for the accident?"

"You'll have to ask her yourself," he said, his expression softer than it had been a moment before, "or just wait. She'll tell you when she's ready." The buzzer on the scoreboard went off and Izzy, Maia, and Clary came out of the locker room, followed by another girl.

I noticed Clary was wearing tight, short shorts, like the other girls, and a tight, long-sleeved tee that showed of her curves. I would be needing a cold shower. My gym shorts were baggy, but I was pretty shore the bulge would be visible. Judging by the way Clary turned red and bit her lip, as she shamelessly checked me out, it was.

"Like what you see?" I asked, giving her a wink. She smiled coyly.

"Maybe, but I could ask you the same question." Then, the coach blew his whistle and we all gathered around him. I stood behind Clary and noticed Sebastian was next to me, staring at Clary's ass as if she were a piece of meat. I could've punched the smug look off his face right then, but the coach started speaking.

"Okay," he started, "New kid. Verlac. You're captains." He through a volley ball at me. "What's your name, kid?"

"Wayland. Jace Wayland," I said waggling my eyebrows. He didn't look amused, but Clary giggled softly in front of me.

"You pick first, Wayland." I didn't even have to think.

"Clary," I said and she turned around, raising her eyebrows at me. She came to stand beside me.

"You do know I'm highly uncoordinated, right?" she said leaning in and dropping her voice to a whisper.

"Don't worry," I said with a smirk, "I'm good enough for the both of us." It was then that I turned and saw Alec was glaring at us. _Oops_. I picked him next, hoping he wouldn't be too mad. In the end I had Clary, Alec, Izzy, Magnus, Maia and – much to my demise – Rat-boy. Izzy, Alec, and I were good enough to pick up the slack from Clary and Simon, and in the end we were tied with Sebastian's team. Clary made her way to the girl's changing room, and I ran after her. She was just about to open the door when I stopped her.

"Clary," she looked up at me with her beautiful smile, "I have to run to my locker, but meet me in the student parking lot? I'll give you a ride home or to the bookstore. Wherever." Her smile got wider.

"Um, sure," she said. "I have to work, so the bookstore. If you want to hang out there until the band practices later, I'm sure Luke won't mind." I didn't like his sister, but Luke sounded pretty cool.

"Definitely," I said smiling, before opening the door for her and turning to go change.

**A/N: Thank you all for reading, and for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. I hope you enjoyed it, please let me know what you think. I'll try to update by Sunday. Thanks, again. I love you all!**

**~C**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: ****IMPORTANT NOTE:**** I have completed Chapter four, finally… Everything from Jace's P.O.V. down is new content. Super sorry! I have been super busy lately, but I am back! I do not own TMI or any part of '**_**Let Me In,' **_**Cassandra Clare and Grouplove do. Enjoy, darlings**

Chapter Four:

**Clary P.O.V.**

I changed quickly, said goodbye to the girls, and practically ran to my locker. I was probably a little too excited about spending the rest of the day with Jace. He was really amazing, though. He was funny, protective, complemented me a lot, was straightforward, – which probably meant he was honest- and he was _really _hot. I was seriously a nervous wreck. I had never had a boyfriend and I had only been on one date in the entirety of my life – it had _not_ gone well, to say the least. Of course, Jace was _nothing_ like Sebastian – at least I didn't think he was. Then again, I'd one thought Sebastian was a 'nice guy' and look how wrong I was about that. That wasn't really me, though. He actually seemed a little off to me, but Manus and Maia had talked me into it. Now, however, they wanted to string him up by his toes. I started to get nervous, thinking of the ways in which they were similar. They both had big egos and they were both over-protective, but they were still different. Sebastian had been more possessive than protective and he was a complete ass. Jace wasn't really possessive the way Seb had been, and he kept his ego under control – most of the time. I had reached the parking lot, and was seriously considering turning around and running for the hills, when I heard Jace call me.

"Clary! Over here." I looked to find Jace, holding a helmet out in my direction, about fifty feet across the parking lot. I was confused, for a moment, until I realize he was leaning on a motorcycle. A big shiny, black and silver motorcycle. My mouth hit the ground. I looked back to his face to find him trying his best to stifle his laughter. I glared at him as I crossed the parking lot, coming to a halt next to him.

"Not what you were expecting?" he asked with a smirk, gesturing to the two-wheeled machine of death.

"It would have been nice to warn me. What if I'm not allowed to ride on motorcycles?" I asked raising my eyebrows, "Did you ever think of that?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"So, you're not going to go on the hottest guy you've ever seen's motorcycle, because you're not _allowed_ to?" He was _so _full of himself.

"No. I didn't say I wasn't allowed to ride on motorcycles. My dad doesn't really give a shit," I took the helmet, as he swung his leg over to striatal the bike, "and you are not the hottest guy I've ever seen." I got on the bike, sitting behind him. We were extremely close, but it wasn't awkward. It felt natural.

"Yeah, right," he said scoffing. "Where is this bookstore?"

"It's called _Garroway Books_ and it's on Bedford. Do you know where that is?" I asked.

"Yup. Hang on tight, Red." Now it was awkward. I wasn't really sure what to do with my hands. He seemed to realize this and twisted around to face me. He gave me yet another cocky grin, grabbing my hands and rapping them around his waist tightly, pressing me against him, before turning back around and starting the motor cycle.

"Keep your legs were they are, so they don't get burnt by the exhaust, and don't lean too hard on the turns. Just relax and move with me," he yelled over the loud roar of the engine. He released the brake. At first, it scared the living hell out of me and I tightened my hold on his waist. His body shook with laughter. I wanted nothing more than to smack him in the back of the head, but I didn't - for fear of us crashing and dying. Once we got on the road, I relaxed a little, getting used to the turns and movement of the bike. It was actually really fun – freaking freezing, but still fun. We reached Bedford and I pointed out Luke's bookstore. From the outside, it looked kind of shabby. It was an old, two story, brick building. The window decal read: _Garroway Books_. In the window, was a display of my mother's finest work, including a portrait of Jon and I. Luke had insisted on putting them there so that people would commission things from her. Now, it was like driving by a sad memorial on the side of the road, that people put up when there is a fatal accident. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, as I realized something terrifying. Today was the first day I had laughed since the accident, and the first day I didn't spend every moment thinking about my mother and Jon. Guilt overwhelmed me and I was fighting to keep the tears, which were stinging the back of my eyes, from spilling over.

"Uh, Clary?" Jace's words pulled me from the depressing dark abyss, which was my thoughts. "You can let go now." I looked at my surroundings and realized we were parked on the sidewalk, in front of the bookstore, and Jace was waiting for me to get off. I shook my head of my foggy daydreaming and climbed off of the bike, releasing my hold on Jace's waist. Jace put down the kickstand with his foot and climbed off of the motorcycle. He looked up, taking in the old building, before turning back to me.

"It's-uh…" he trailed off, "quaint." I chucked under my breath. "No, really. It's nice. It has that vintage vibe. Book people probably go nuts over this place." He was right. Luke got a lot of book-lover types here. He had new, modern merchandise, just like the typical _Books-A-Million_ or _Barnes and Nobles_, but it didn't end there.He had original copies, and used, books and comics, as well as, both old and new, vinyl records.

"He has some pretty awesome music too. Older classics, Rock, and Indie records. It's only about a fourth of the bookstore, but it's pretty cool." His eyes lit up. He took hold of my arm and dragged me to the door. I purposely dragged my feet, just to mess with him. He stopped, released my arm, and turned with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "What are-," I was cut off as Jace swooped down, scooping me up and throwing me over his shoulder. I flailed my legs and yelled at him, "Put me down, immediately!" He chuckled.

"You shouldn't have messed with me. It is cruel and unusual punishment to keep a music connoisseur, such as myself from such a glorious collection, as that of which you've described," he said with a suckish, fake English accent. He opened the door and walked into the store, as I continued to flail my legs.

"Clary, is that you," I heard Luke call, probably from the storage room in the back, hidden behind the staircase that led up to the second level of the store. Knowing that Luke wasn't going to like the fact that I had ridden here on some older guy's motorcycle and probably wouldn't like said guy, – Jace, obviously – I didn't want to make it worse by him walking I with me flung over Jace's shoulder.

"Put me down!" I hissed. Jace chucked in response. I did what any other person in my situation would've done, and bit down hard on his ass he let out a deep yelp and jumped, releasing me from his hold. I slid down his front and land, ungracefully on my feet, in front of him. His eyes were wide, as he looked at me with disbelief.

"Did you just _bite my ass?!_"

"It's highly possible," I said, flashing him a smug grin. His eyes went dark and one corner of his mouth pulled up in a crooked grin, as he stalked toward me. I backed away as he approached. "What are y-," I was cut off as he lunged at me, grabbing my sides. He tickled me and I fell to the ground, erupting with laughter, as he crouched beside me, tickling my sides relentlessly. "Jace," I said through fits of laughter, "cut – it – out!"

"Apologize."

"Never!"

"Then I guess I'll never stop tickling you," he laughed. I slapped at his hands, but it didn't faze him.

"Okay. Okay," I said holding up my hands in defeat. He stopped his torment and leaned back.

"Are you going to apologize and be a good little leprechaun?" he said with a tone like that which you'd use when scolding a small child. I smiled at him, innocently.

"Of course," I said, lifting myself up on my elbows, "NOT!" I jumped up and bolted for the storage room door, only to be caught by my waist and lifted into the air. Jace swung me around and plopped me on the counter. He had both my arms, in a tight grasp, at my side. I looked up at him, to find his beautiful golden orbs resting on my lips. I looked back at his and wondered what they'd taste like. I had never actually kissed anyone before. He started to lean in closer, and my lips parted in anticipation, when I heard a loud clearing of someone's throat. Jace jumped back and we both turned to see Luke, carrying a large box of books, raising an eyebrow with a disapproving look. I was still a little stund, when Jace spoke.

"Hi, Mr. Garroway," he said with a nervous smile. Luke looked to Jace, and his glasses clad eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Stephen?" Wait. What?

**Jace P.O.V.**

I had not been looking forward to this moment. I wasn't surprised he saw my parents in me. I looked just like the old pictures of my father, but with my mother's golden eyes and fuller lips. Plus, I didn't know too much detail, but I did know that Luke's sister had an affair with my father – which ultimately destroyed my parents and made my childhood hell. Luke was still standing there, bug-eyed and confused. As much as I didn't want to deal with this, I had to make a good impression with Luke. Clary was closer, it seemed, to him than her own father.

"No, sir," I said with a polite smile, "Stephen Herondale was my father. I'm Jace Wayland." It took a minute for my words to soak in, then he looked at me with sorrowful eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry about what happened with your parents. You look so much like them, especially your father," he put the giant box down on the counter, before holding an expectant hand. "It's nice to meet you." I shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Garroway. Clary and her friends talk about you a lot." He laughed lightly.

"They only like me because I'm the only one who'll put up with a bunch of obnoxious teenagers in my store," we both laughed, "and you can call me Luke."

"I see all the new comics came in," Clary said, digging through the box. Luke walked over to her.

"Yup. Are you ready to stock some shelves?" Luke said, enthusiastically.

"Are you kidding?" Clary said, in the same tone, "That's what I live for."

"Great," Luke said walking back the way he'd come, "I'll go get the stool, in case you can't reach anything." He wasn't joking, but that just made it funnier. Clary's face heated, and I erupted with laughter. She turned, ignoring me, and tried to lift the large box of comics. I did my best to stop my laughter, and went to stand at her side. She seemed to be struggling.

"Need some help?" I asked, grinning down at her. She bit her lip in thought, unconsciously driving me insane, before nodding.

"Yes, please. I'd rather not break my toe again." I raised an eyebrow, in question. "I'll tell you another time." I brought the box, upstairs, to the store's second level and helped Clary stalk the shelves. I was surprised when Clary didn't mention my parents, but we remained in a comfortable silence, until I realized what we were putting on the shelves.

"My brother reads these things," I said, holding up a manga comic book, laughing to myself. "He's such a little nerd." Clary scoffed.

"Hey!" she said, slapping my chest playfully, "I read those too!" I smiled.

"That explains a lot," I mumbled. She glared up at me. "I'm just playing," I said, nudging her with my shoulder. She winced. It reminded me of earlier, when Simon had grabbed her arm. I'd almost forgotten. I was going to ask about it, when she spoke again.

"Simon reads them, too. He's the one that got me into it and anime and manga. I read more fantasy stuff, though. I love reading. I have like a jillion books. Pus, Luke lets me read the books here whenever I want, and listen to the old records." I noticed how her eyes lit up, when she talked about books. It reminded me of myself, with music.

"What's your favorite book?" I asked, not wanting the glowing happiness to leave her beautiful eyes.

"The Fault in Our Stars," she blushed. "Don't think I'm some cliché teenage girl, because it's different. A lot of people say that they 'love' that book, but not everyone really gets it. I mean some people memorize two quotes, 'some infinities are bigger than other infinities' and 'Okay? Okay,' and think that sums up the whole book, but it's _so much more _than that." She stopped suddenly and her cheeks turned bright, again. "Sorry. I'm rambling. I do that a lot, when it comes to books, art, and music." _I swear, _I thought, _this girl is going to make me fall in love._ She was so full of passion and life, when she talked about her passions. I had only one question.

"Does MCR mean anything to you?" Her eyes widened and she smiled, excitedly.

"My Chemical Romance?!" _Thank the angels._ "I _love_ them! There tied, as my second favorite, with Hozier. My first is Vance Joy. I literally _cried_, the day I found out that they split." I almost considered proposing right there. "Why are you looking at me like you just saw Jesus?" She looked seriously confused.

"I think I'm falling in love with you, Clary Fray," I said with a flirtatious smirk. Her eyes went wide, for a moment, before a solemn look masked her freckled face.

"Yeah," she scoffed, "right." I would've pressed the matter further, but the bell over the door rang, signaling a customer had entered. Clary left to great them, and I finished stocking the shelves. The rest of the afternoon, the store was filled with customers. Clary stayed at the cash register, while I checked out the record collection, watching Clary. It was amazing. By 7:30 p.m., I had listened less than a third of the albums in Luke's vast collection. As the last customer left the store, Luke flipped the sign in the window to 'closed,' and locked the door. Simon and the nerd band showed up a few minutes later.

"Jace," Clary called from the counter, where she was counting out all of money from the register, "Can you open the door for them?" I walked over to the door and unlocked. Simon glared at me.

"Rat-boy," I greeted him with a polite tone. He ignored me, going over to Clary. The nerd band, and Jordan, came in behind him, carrying in instruments. I held the door for them, before turning back to Clary. Rat-boy was hugging her, glaring at me. _I'm going to kill this little scrub._ Thankfully, Clary pulled away, giving Simon a questioning glance. He shrugged it off and retreated to the back room with Jordan and the nerds. Clary locked up the money, and turned to me.

"Ready to go be deafened?" I asked her holding out my arm for her. She smiled brightly, hooking her arm through my own.

"I would like nothing more," she said with false enthusiasm, as I led her to the back room, which the nerd band had entered. They were all set up and Jordan was doing a mic check. The room was made for storage. Shelves full of boxes lined the walls. The middle of the room, where the 'band' set up, was cleared of boxes. Against the only wall without shelves, where a worn out, maroon sofa and two beanbag chairs. They all sat facing the nerds. Sitting in them were three whose names I didn't remember, but had met at lunch. Clary sat on the couch next to one of the girls and I took a seat beside her. She pulled her legs up, resting her chin on her knees.

"Any requests?" Jordan asked, waggling his eyebrows. Clary giggled. Her level of adorable should be illegal. "Clary?" She bit her lip in thought.

"Did you guys finish learning _Let Me In _by Grouplove?" she asked with hopeful eyes. Jordan smiled and they started, while Clary let out an excited squeak.

"_Gimme, gimme that love, I'll be waitin' for ya'_

_Catch my hand, I'll be fightin' for ya'_

_Let me in, yeah, let me get closer_

_Got me runnin' wild like I feel it all over_

_Catch my hand, I'll be fightin' for ya'_

_All this time been trippin' and slippin' around_

_You got me, now I'm swimmin', swimmin' in clouds_

_Gimme, gimme that love, I'll be waitin' for ya'"_

The song made me think of Clary. I looked away from the band, directing my attention to her. She was smiling brightly, eyes closed, taking in the music. She was so perfect and so beautiful. I would fight for her, if I had to. I was not giving up.

"_Catch my hand, I'll be fightin' for ya'_

_And I'm findin' out that all I know is right at home_

_But I'm tellin' the man my plan to never feel alone_

_Let me in, yeah, let me get closer_

_Got my hands high like I ride a roller coaster_

_Cannot be it, cannot be lonely_

_Lookin' like you're lovin', you're livin' the moment_

_Got me, now I'm swimmin', swimmin' in clouds_

_Gimme, gimme that love, I'll be waitin' for ya'_

_Catch my hand, I'll be fightin' for ya'_

_Holdin' my breath till there's nothin' left_

_Hold your breath, now there's nothin' left_

_Gimme that love, I'll be waitin' for ya'_

_(Woah)_

_Now I'm findin' out that all I know is right at home_

_So I'm tellin' the man my plan to never feel alone_

_Gimme, gimme that love, I'll be waitin' for ya'_

_And catch my hand, I'll be fightin' for ya'_

_Holdin' my breath till there's nothing left_

_Hold your breath, now there's nothing left_

_Gimme that love, I'll be waitin for ya'_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)_

_(Ooh, yuppity, yuppity, yup)"_

Clary looked up at me, as the song ended, catching me staring at her. She blushed, but didn't look away. I leaned in, holding her eyes with my own, until they closed as she leaned in, as well. Our lips brushed lightly. When she didn't pull away, I added more pressure holding her small face between my hands with a firm grasp, brushing my thumb over her high cheeks. She tensed and pulled away, with a small gasp, holding her hand to the side of her cheek. She jumped up.

"I-uh. Bathroom," she said, darting from the room. I felt something on my hand, and looked down to see a smudge of makeup on my thumb, where I had held Clary's face. _Cover-up?_ She, obviously, didn't wear it all over her face. She had freckles and her skin was clear. _What if someone was hurting her?_ The mere thought made me want to run and hold her, safely, in my arms. _Who would hurt Clary? She was so perfect and kind and innocent – with those big green eyes._ I wanted to know what was going on, but – at the same time - I knew I couldn't make her tell me. She would just push me away. I would wait, until she knew she could trust me. At least, I didn't have to worry about her tonight. She'd be home safe soon. She came back out, and I did my best to act normal. The guys gave us funny looks, while Simon shot me death glares. They continued playing, until 8:30p.m. We said quick good-byes and left. I hoped on my bike, and Clary got on behind me. Before starting the engine I asked, "What's your address?"

"3108 Brooks Street," she responded. "Do you know where that is?" I couldn't believe this. Across the street from my new house, was an equally large mansion with solid gates surrounding it. We had yet to see the neighbors.

"Seriously?!" I asked, looking over my shoulder at her, completely shocked. She looked confused. "I live across the street from you! 3109 Brooks Street," I explained, turning back around to start the bike. This day had turned out to be even better than I'd imagined. A few minutes later, we were pulled up on the sidewalk, in front of Clary's house.

"You want me to walk you to the door?" I asked her, as I got off my bike.

"No!" she practically screamed. I raised an eyebrow. "I-My-uh. My dad. He's really overprotective so…. yeah. He's probably kill you."

"Oh," I said, with a soft chuckle. "So I guess he wouldn't allow me to take you on a proper date on Friday?" She looked shocked. "I did kiss you," I said matter-of-factly, watching as her cheeks turned scarlet, "so it seems only fair." She stood, unresponsive and wide-eyed, for a moment.

"Um. Actually, he'll be on a business trip for a week, starting Thursday night. So, yeah. That'd be great," She replied, nervously biting at her lip. _The things this girl does to me. _

"Great!" I replied eagerly. "Can I get your number?" I asked, holding out my phone to her. She took it and typed in her contact.

"Just text me and I'll save your number," she said, handing my phone back to me.

"Okay." I said, sliding my phone in my pocket, "I'll see you tomorrow then?" She nodded and gave me a small wave, before turning to open the gates. I watched, as she walked up the long pathway to her door and entered her house, before walking my bike across the street to my own.

**Clary P.O.V.**

When Jace said nothing about me running off, after our little, eh-hem, incident, I was relieved. At least he didn't know how screwed up I was. I was beyond excited, and the butterflies in my stomach persisted, as I walked up my driveway. Then, I saw my dad's car. _Oh shit!_ My phone said it was 8:45. He wasn't supposed to be home until 10 and my curfew was 9, but the house wasn't clean and he wouldn't care about technicalities. I opened the door slowly, quietly stepping into the house. "_Thank God!_" I thought, as I saw him, passed out cold, on the couch. I ran throughout the house, picking up and dusting. Then, I did the dishes, as quietly as possible, and got to work on dinner. I was setting a place for Valentine, when I heard him approach from behind me. He grabbed my hair, pulling me to the ground. His foot slammed into my – already bruised – abdomine.

"You think I'm stupid!?" he screeched at me. "You're a little fucking slut! Just like your mother was!" His foot connected with my side once again. "If I ever see him here - or anywhere near you – ever again, I will give you so many lashes that no man will be able to stand the sight of you!" The whip. He had never used it on me, but I knew better than to think him above it. He kicked me once more, before crouching over me, "I do not want to see your ugly face again, until I get back from Boston. Understood?" I nodded weakly. He stood and went to his meal. I crawled up the stairs, to my room, and collapsed on my bed. I pulled out my phone and earbuds, and bleared _'Numb' _by Linkin Park. I was so useless. Worthless. Ugly. Fat. Pathetic. Ginger. Stupid. Damaged. Guilty. I pulled my dresser drawer open and grabbed a blade. I dug it deep into my – already cut and scarred - forearm and slashed all the way across it. I repeated this a few times and watched the blood flow from my arm and trickle down to the hard wood floor. Linkin Park was interrupted by a text message alert. I paused the music and looked at my messages. _Jace._

_Good night, beautiful. I'll see you soon;) –Jace_

**AN: Thank you SO MUCH for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites. They literally make my day. Let me know what you think. I do have a plan for the plot and everything, but if there's anything you want to see, or if you have any ideas, I might include them. Thank you all so much – again. I love you all! **

**~C**


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